Mapping Digital Youth Faith Formation in a Postdigital Age: First Insights from a Participatory Citizen Science Approach

This paper presents the initial insights derived from the Digital Youth Formation Initiative (DYFI) research project, which accompanies Catholic initiatives across Europe and situates their experiences within a broader scholarly discourse. Supported by Porticus, DYFI projects experiment with digital content, hybrid gatherings, and new forms of youth-oriented faith communication. The meta-research maps the learning processes of project leaders and youth ministers with the aim of bringing them into dialogue and debating issues pertaining to the postdigital church. It further draws on collaborations with the International Association of the Study of Yoth Ministry (IASYM) research group on digital youth formation and on material from international encounters, such as the Sarajevo consultation Swipe//Post//Like and the Catholic Synod’s Study Group on The Mission in the Digital Environment . Through iterative qualitative analysis, six initial clusters were refined into four overarching themes: the ambivalent effects of the digital world, the role of theology in digital contexts, the needs and voices of young people, and contested forms of religious authority. These findings illuminate the central tensions and opportunities in digital youth faith formation and underscore their relevance pertaining to practical theology in a postdigital age.